02 February 2012

Nordzucker’s beet campaign ends across the Group

Successful 2011/12 campaigns in all regions

The Nordzucker Group’s 2011/12 beet campaign has come to a successful end in all three regions. The final unit to finish was the Danish sugar factory in Nakskov, where the last of the beet was processed on 1 February. The longest campaign ever in Nordzucker’s history therefore came to a close after 147 days. The campaign started at the beginning of September 2011. In Germany, the campaign ended on 17 January.

A total volume of around 18 million tonnes of sugar beet was processed around the clock in the 13 factories. “This brings to a close a very successful campaign. The factories were able to operate much more steadily and at an optimum level thanks to the good campaign preparation, higher maintenance budgets, and optimal weather conditions,” emphasised Chief Production Officer Axel Aumüller.

Warm weather during the period the beet was growing and storing sugar, dry weather during the harvest, and good weather conditions at the loading and transport stage all contributed to a textbook campaign. “Favourable conditions need to be taken advantage of, and this is precisely what the farmers and the whole Group team achieved in 2011,” added Chief Agricultural Officer Dr. Niels Pörksen.

Central Europe Region
On 17 January 2012, after 130 campaign days, the factories in Uelzen and Clauen were the last in north Germany to shut down and mark the end of the sugar beet campaign. 9.4 million tonnes of beet were processed overall, corresponding to around 13 tonnes of sugar per hectare.

Northern Europe Region
The campaign ended in Sweden in the middle of January and produced excellent results. The factory in Örtöfta produced around 390,000 tonnes of sugar (previous year: 315,000 tonnes). Approx. 2.9 million tonnes of beet were processed in Denmark, almost 650,000 tonnes in Lithuania, and around 680,000 tonnes in Finland.

Eastern Europe Region
The campaign in eastern Europe already finished on 5 January in Opalenica. “We also enjoyed excellent conditions, outstanding beet and sugar yields, and faced no major problems during the course of the campaign,” summed up Flemming Lyngholm, Managing Director of Nordzucker Eastern Europe GmbH. Approx. 590,000 tonnes of beet were processed in Slovakia, and around 1,300,000 tonnes in Poland.

Background: 
The Nordzucker Group with its headquarters in Braunschweig/Germany is Europe’s second biggest sugar producer, and also a producer of bioethanol and animal feed from sugar beet. 18 production sites and refineries across Europe form the efficient technical, logistical and geographical platform for continued success in future. The workforce of 3,500 across the Group is committed to delivering excellent products and services. 

Frau Nina Tatter
Fon: 0531 / 2411 - 348
Mail: nina.tatter{@}nordzucker[.]de